FRANCONIA >> When Garnet Valley’s Matt Marino dropped his 120-pound semifinal bout a week ago in the District One East tourney, it cost him more than just a shot at a district title. Finishing third made this week’s run at the Class AAA Southeast Regional all the tougher, giving him a first round match instead of the bye reserved for champs.
That meant a first-round battle with West Chester Rustin’s Brett Kaliner, himself a victim of the upset bug a week ago, making it an unlikely opening-round tilt between two returning state qualifiers.
“Coming in here today, I would have thought that we were the top two in the weight class,” said Marino. “So to come here and have to face him right off the bat meant I had to be at my best right away.”
Penncrest’s Liam Frank, left, nears a reversal in a 6-4 loss to Council Rock North’s Josh Shalinsky in the 170-pound quarterfinal match. (For Digital First Media/Nate Heckenberger)
Marino scored a pair of takedowns, added an escape, and fended off a game Kaliner, save for a late takedown, and held on for the 5-3 win. Marino then tacked on a 9-3 win over top-seeded Gunar Fuss of Harry S. Truman to advance to Saturday morning’s semifinal round, where he’ll meet Boyertown’s David Campbell.
Marino is one of six county wrestlers still with a shot at a regional title. Joining him in the semis are Interboro’s Eric Thomas (145), Penn Wood’s Abraham Charles (138) and a trio of Upper Darby wrestlers: Colin Cronin (138), Brian Kennerly (195) and Peter Augustin (285).
Like Marino, Thomas had to work out of the first round, edging Boyertown’s Chris Berry 3-1 to set up a quarterfinal against Avon Grove’s Kevin Edwards, the District 1 Central champ.
Edwards grabbed the early lead with an escape, then cut Thomas loose for one to make it 2-1 after one. Edwards took down to start the second, and hit a switch for the reversal, cutting Thomas loose once again to make it 4-2. Thomas tied it with a takedown of his own.
Taking bottom to start the third, Thomas mimicked Edwards, and picked up a reversal on a switch. But unlike Edwards, Thomas went to work on top, hooking up a near side cradle for a pair of back points to ice the victory and a semifinal match against Pottstown’s Bryan Wise.
“I missed out on winning another district title last week, so I came in here with the mindset that I want to win regionals,” said Thomas. “I knew Kevin was going to be tough, so I just kept pushing as hard as I could.”
Cronin barely broke a sweat in picking up his quarterfinal win, decking Downingtown West’s Alex Murta in just 1:35. Cronin will now see Penn Wood’s Charles, a 4-2 upset winner over Central champ Collin Devlin of Upper Dublin.
Kennerly was a 9-7 winner over Pennridge’s Andrew Reinhold in quarters, and will now face Upper Moreland’s Patrick Walker in the semis.
Augustin picked up a big win in quarters, knocking off Central runner-up Quincy Williams 5-4 to set up a semi-final showdown with Boyertown’s Tommy Killoran.
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Archbishop Carroll’s Guillermo Murgueytio (113), Nick Poulos (126) and Jack McQuaid (145) all went 1-1 in the opening round of the Class AA Southeast Regional at Wilson High School.
Murgueytio and Poulos won their opening matches by technical fall, while McQuaid won by fall. Murgueytio beat Ja-Cere Morris of Bristol, 16-1, to advance to the quarterfinals. The match was stopped at the end of the second period.
Poulos pounded Nick Boyce of Pope John Paul II, 15-0 (4:15) to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. McQuaid decked Shane Carter of Church Farm School in 2:00. All three then lost in the quarterfinals to fall into the consolation round.
Teammate David Grill (120) and Steve Caltabiano (16) were eliminated on the first night of competition.
Delco Christian’s Jacob Favino (145) and Caleb Madison (170) are still alive. Favino dropped a 12-3 decision to Austin Fisher of Pequea Valley in the first round, but then had a bye in the first round on consolations. Madison was pinned by Mahanoy’s Noah Fegley in 1:58, but also had a bye in the second round of consolations.
